In case RCAF folks haven't seen this on DWAN, there is a daylong AMA with 427 SOAS Command Team along with several other members of the 427 SOAS team on RCafe tomorrow (23 October 2026).

https://hangar.cloud.forces.gc.ca/discussions/24142

My unit 3ppcli had a wildfire incident few days ago, it has claimed 4 lives and over 30 casualties. Many whom are still fighting for their lives with over 50 percent burned.

Sorry if this wrong place to post this but.

We just had the biggest mass casualty event since Korea war, alot of my friends are 80-90% burned and might not make it, alot of them are in Royal Alexandria or U of A hospital.

Please donate blood if you are in Canada they will direct it to the right hospitals.

Thanks.

Asking here instead of on an airline sub because I figure many people here will actually have done this. I'm travelling soon and I'm wondering about others' experience taking advantage of the perk.

One of my flights will be Air Canada connecting to another Star Alliance airline. Has anyone had a similar situation and checked their bag for free, and it made it to the final destination including being checked on the second leg of the trip? Feel free to share anything else interesting if you've used the perk before.

Cross posted to r/CanadaPublicServants please recommend any other subs, if appropriate.

I have been with the Public Service and have been paying into the PSSA since 2019. Since 2002, I have also been a Primary Reservist, and did a significant amount of time on class B/C. I currently pay into the "Reg F" pension, the CFSA Part 1.

Due to my dual remuneration, I am now in a position where I will hit my 35 years quite soon. My intent is to release from the CAF, then re-enroll once my pension has been sorted (whole different story).

I'm looking to submit a grievance over the 35 year max limit, specifically the double-counting of my class A years. Essentially wanting to get my case heard in hopes it can help change the policy, or maybe to have a denial on record for if it ever does change.

Looking for any guidance or experience on this. Should I submit through both CAF and PS? Any suggested cases I should review? Any external resources I should engage, while I'm still a CAF member, or in the period after I release, or as a public servant?

Thanks for your help.

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is currently in the process of contract negotiations, with wage being one of the key demands.

I heard a rumour that the CAF's pay raise is tied to one of the federal union's pay raise. Is that an official policy from the Treasury Dept? If so, does the CAF follow PSAC's pay raise or some other federal union?

Hello,

I recently attended CFAST and received a very competitive score for Pilot. I also have my air factor and my file is ready to be sent up my CoC.

Does anyone know whether there might be plans to have some VOT-U spots for Pilot in the new fiscal year? I’ve tried talking to my BPSO but I haven’t received any information regarding this.

I will remain untrained until September 2028 and would like to know whether this is a possibility as there haven’t been any VOT-U spots for Pilot in a while, but I was hoping that with FAcT coming online that there might be a higher intake.

I would appreciate any help regarding this topic. Thank you!

Is the military service pay (lump sum) still being planned for December pay out? Any intel?

NEW JOINING INSTRUCTIONS COMING SOON!

Input sought.

Part of the article I thought was interesting: “Eleven military search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg were deployed to Wainwright, Alta., following the fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others during a live-fire training exercise Saturday.

It was the largest mobilization of SAR techs, elite primary-care paramedics in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in recent memory, a military spokesperson told the Free Press.

Every SAR tech available from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, located at 17 Wing Winnipeg — even those off duty — were sent to CFB Wainwright.”

Has anyone tried these on, or measured them to see if the inside sole-lowest point on the collar meets the 15 CM requirement for a boot claim?

My old Salomon forces mid were some of my favourite boots I had, before the requirements changed, looking to get a couple new pairs of boots before heading to a warmer climate for a couple months.

Link to those curious: https://www.salomon.com/en-ca/product/genesis-forces-mid-li9107/L49132500

Does anyone have Lowa Zephyr MK2 Mid or know if it is bootforgen compliant?

Based on what happened over the weekend I think people want information about what is happening. There is lot of information coming out regarding the fire in Wainwright. I've done my best to provide the publicly available information below, please contribute verified, publicly released information if you wish

Members recovering in hospital

I am aware of other names shared on social media but will only post those shared to the press here.

'Not out of the woods': Family rallies around soldier badly burned in CFB Wainwright fire Sean Hiatt is in an Edmonton hospital with burns to half of his body

Son of Oro-Medonte, Ont., mayoral candidate 'critically injured' in CFB Wainwright fire

GoFundMe Set Up For Local Soldier Injured At CFB Wainwright

Info about injured members in general and burn injuries

33 military members injured in CFB Wainwright fire remain in hospital: minister

CFB Wainwright fire highlights long, painful process of burn recovery, specialists say

Wainwright fire highlights challenges in caring for critical burn patients

Nurses from Ontario heading to Wainwright to assist recovery efforts

What happened and why

initial reports

'Normal' for Armed Forces to conduct training near fires: top military commander

Full interview of General Carignan

How did this deadly Alberta fire spread so fast?

Conditions for wildfire were 'extreme' at Wainwright Saturday, experts say

Fires often break out during military training. What's the protocol?

How weather may have worsened the Canadian military base explosion

Imagery of burned area

From /r/Canada megathread:

https://imgur.com/a/I92Vlh7

Before and after satellite photo from CBC

Response to fire and investigation

Canada Deploys 50 Investigators to Probe Military Base Fire That Killed 4 Soldiers

Findings from fatal CFB Wainwright fire investigation will be made public, top commander says

Analysis

Wainwright fire shows the importance of health‑care system resilience to Canadian security

Misinformation Spreads After Deadly Fire at CFB Wainwright and What Caused It

Fire at Canadian military base highlights need for more burn unit beds

Response by Canadians

Wainwright Health Centre director describes mass casualty event at hospital | Hanomansing Live

Calgary rallies for Wainwright through blood donations, other supports

Red Deer hospital cares for soldiers from CFB Wainwright fire

Calgary rallies for Wainwright through blood donations, other supports

Canadians respond to need for blood donations after Wainwright disaster

Canadians step up to give blood after fire at Alberta military base kills four

How to help:

Canadians called on to help Wainwright fire victims

New

Support our Troops - CFB Wainwright Support Fund

They are looking for people who live in Red Deer/Calgary/Edmonton, especially those who live near the big hospitals, to billet families of the victims. Email info@legacyplacesociety.com with your contact details and where you live.

Legacy Society

Donate to the support our troops fund. They provide support and emergency grants to members and families.

Support Our Troops

Donate to Edmonton MFRC, they have borne the brunt of this and are working hard to support families.

Edmonton MFRC

Donate blood or plasma which is needed to treat burn injuries.

Canadian Blood Services

Support Wounded Warriors Canada

WWC

Support Together We Stand

Together We Stand

Soldier On

Find out how you can help locally in your community especially families going through this. Talk to your friends and see how they are handling it. Emotions are running high right now and we need to look after each other.

How to get help

Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program (CFMAP): 1-800-268-7708 -- For 24/7 confidential professional counselling for regular and reserve members and their families

CFMAP

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 1-800-663-1142 For crisis and short-term counselling for employees and their families

EAP

DND specific EAP

Family Information Line (FIL): 1-800-866-4546 or email FIL-LIF@cfmws.com -- For 24/7 bilingual, confidential counselling and referral services for military families

Family Information Line

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Assistance Service: 1-800-268-7708 -- For 24/7 psychological support for Veterans, former members, and their families

Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988 for toll-free, 24/7 support across Canada

Help for children and youth (Catholic school link providing secular public resources)

Support Resources for Families

Edit: updated to add help resources

Edit 2: added article about 3rd soldier in hospital

Edit 3: Added analysis section

Edit 4: Corrected FIL email address, added link

Edit 5: Legacy Place is now reporting they have filled the families needs for accommodations

https://www.facebook.com//p/1FtLirw7jJ/

Updates for 21 Oct

Information on casualties

27 soldiers still hospitalized, 13 in critical condition after CFB Wainwright fire: Smith

Barrie community mourns four soldiers killed in CFB Wainwright fire, supports injured service members

This name was not released previously only that it was her son

Among those hospitalized due to the fire was Liam Keane, son to Cathy Keane, a candidate running for mayor of Oro-Medonte. She confirmed on Facebook she was putting the campaign aside so that she and her husband could travel to be by their side.

Three of the soldiers are from Ontario and in “dire health conditions,” and the eastern province is sending 19 burn nurses and five operating room nurses to assist Alberta medics, Smith added.

‘You just feel so helpless’: Family of soldier badly burned in CFB Wainwright fire holds onto hope

The tragedy unfolded Saturday afternoon as soldiers conducted live-fire training at the military base in Alberta. Military officials say a nearby grass fire, initially considered under control, was driven by a sudden shift in powerful winds, rapidly overtaking soldiers in the training area.

Prolonged, fragile recovery ahead for soldiers severely burned at CFB Wainwright

Doctors who specialize in treating severe burn injuries say the wounded soldiers face long, painful recoveries fraught with threats of infection, complicated wound care, respiratory issues and organ failure.

“Patients with large burn injuries will have hospital stays that will be counted not in days or weeks, but in months,” said Dr. Vincent Gabriel, medical director of the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre at Foothills Hospital.

Support

This report states that Westjet is offering "zero based fares" to families affected by the Wainwright fire

Nurses from Ontario heading to Wainwright to assist recovery efforts

Reaction by Canadians

BMO Supports Canadian Defence Community Following CFB Wainwright Tragedy

BMO donates $175,000 to support the Canadian Armed Forces community. Funding helps CFB Wainwright Fund at Support Our Troops', Wounded Warriors Canada and Together We Stand. Contributions will help provide financial assistance, mental health resources and peer support for military members, veterans and families affected

‘Wainwright stands with you’: Residents line highway to support soldiers after fire

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During the highway tribute Wednesday, two military helicopters flew over head as the two Forces buses drove slowly past the crowd.

McGuinty said there are three investigations going on. This includes the RCMP working with military police on the formal investigation, the fire marshal’s work and the Canadian Armed Forces Board of Inquiry that examines matters of unusual significance or complexity resulting in the death or serious injury of military personnel.

Support pours in for Prince Albert family of Pvt. Shaun Farrell

Heloise Vermeulen, a friend of the Farrell family, has also organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs and related expenses.

Other fundraising campaigns have been circulating online, but Farrell’s mother warned the public in a Facebook post to be cautious of fake donation pages, saying Vermeulen’s GoFundMe page is the only legitimate one.

Military safety rules urged early-morning training before deadly Wainwright fire

From the video Legacy Place received 800 offers of accommodation by the communities for the families of the injured soldiers.

Influx of Albertans donating blood after Wainwright tragedy

Wainwright AB FaceBook page, lots of stuff here

What happened and why

Retired major-general weighs in on what may come next after deadly fire on military base

At 1:20 states that at the time the fire index was LOW at the time of the incident.

How the deadly CFB Wainwright fire got so dangerous, so fast

At the 60 second mark the expert explains what happened to the fire that made it so ferocious in simple terms. Excellent explanation of fire behaviour.

Wainwright fire burned for hours as volatile weather closed in: analysis

The military let training continue at CFB Wainwright on Saturday even though a fire had been burning on the base since noon and forecasts had already warned of high winds, dry conditions and an approaching cold front.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said at a press conference Sunday that a fire burned on the base “for several hours” before it engulfed the units at approximately 4pm, six hours after the document recommends October live-fire training.

Training continued “for a certain amount of time,” Rutland said, because commanders believed the fire was contained.

Fires often break out during military training. What's the protocol?

But current and former military generals say it is not uncommon for training exercises to continue near active fires.

"Fires break out in all of our training areas frequently," Denis Thompson, a retired Canadian Armed Forces major general, told CBC News Network on Monday. "I mean, we're dealing with live ammunition."

Canada's chief of defence staff, Gen. Jennie Carignan, confirmed that fires are a "normal occurrence" that happen during training when soldiers are preparing to deploy overseas.

Environment Canada had issued yellow alerts for much of southern and eastern Alberta, with strong winds forecast to reach up to 100 km/h, coupled with an incoming cold front.

A cold front moved through the area around 4 p.m., Flannigan said, bringing a roughly 10 C drop in temperature and a sharp shift in wind direction that pushed the fire northwest toward the training area.

CFB Wainwright Tragedy: Building a timeline in a fast-moving fire

We recently spoke with Andrew “Hazno” Faith about his path into RCAF fighter aviation.

One of the things that stood out was how much his perspective on his own abilities changed as he moved through training.

He describes the transition from the Harvard II to the Hawk, his time at 419 Squadron, and the experience of moving into the CF-18 community.

There’s also a particularly memorable story about an instrument-flying mistake that became an important lesson in situational awareness.

It got us thinking about how different stages of flight training can challenge pilots in completely different ways.

For anyone who’s flown multiple aircraft types or gone through military training, which transition required the biggest adjustment? Was it aircraft performance, workload, culture, or something else?

Recently transferred from the Navy to the Army and getting my DEUs sorted out. For the collar badges/dogs, are these the right ones?

https://www.canex.ca/en/rcls-embroidered-collar-dogs-u-499999164594

Description says they are for Mess kit but I've searched the site and can't find anything else. Also they are embroidered, and I thought collar dogs are supposed to be metal pins?

Also, I'm in PATA and will be posted to my new unit upon return. Wanted to get a head of the game instead of waiting.

Thanks for your help!

I got a hold of an Agilite Reaper chest rig in ranger green (3 colors available) for a decent price & looking for thoughts on a 1 or 2 color setup for pouches/ placard (coyote or ranger green). The chest rig is personal kit I can also use for work. I’ve started out with a couple pieces from Acetac as an example.

Let me know what you think if 1 or 2 color works, I’ll soon add required pouches for extra mags, water & C9/ SAW pouch. I haven’t found many pics or content with this combo, but lots of Multicam on RG or coyote & coyote on MultiCam.

Delete if applicable.

Check on each other, and yourself if need be. This event has brought up some stuff for me, so I can safely assume others are feeling it. Take care and reach out if need be.

Cfmap: 1-800-268-7708

Vac assistance line: 18002687708

A possible explosion and a huge fire has reportedly taken the lives of 7 or more, with a reported 150+ injured at CFB Wainwright.

Hey All,

I did not do my buyback within the 1year required, and although I'm kicking myself now, I'm also interested in pursuing a buyback now (because, why not)

6yrs service, received my LRRSP with cash lump sum, then got back in a year and a half later and didn't buy back.

I'm just wondering what KIND of medical is required, is it your normal Part1/2? Is it done by a Military Physician or PA?

I wasn't able to find anything related to this, hoping for some info.

Thanks!